The present invention relates to the general field of decorative articles and is particularly concerned with a method and a blank for providing a customizable decorative structure.
The decoration of human habitat for allowing humans to express themselves and for providing an esthetically pleasing environment go back as far as prehistoric times when cavemen are believed to have painted hunting scenes on cave walls. The practice of providing esthetically pleasing decorations on walls or other supporting surfaces seems to have evolved cyclically eversince. The relatively recent trend of spending more time indoors and especially inside one""s living quarters, commonly referred to as xe2x80x9ccocooningxe2x80x9d has led to a concurrent trend towards searching for novel decoration articles.
With the advent of the so-called leisure society there also seems to exist an increased need for leisure activities and, in particular, for family oriented indoor leisure activities. Hobbies such as arts and crafts activities seem to have recently gain increased interest.
The combined interest for decoration articles and hobby related articles has been recognized in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,790 naming Daniel M Johns as inventor and issued Jun. 24, 1997 discloses a collector plate kit including an outer free member and a selectively immovable inner member. The inner member carries a decorative design indicia thereon. The indicia may be painted by the intended collector to suit a particular design scheme.
The kit disclosed in the hereinabove mentioned patent provides a decorative article that, in contrast with paintings inscribed directly on the wall may be readily changed has the taste or preferences of the intended user evolve. Since the tastes of children in particular seem to evolve as they grow this may prove to be particularly useful for decorating children""s room or the like.
Also, the structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,790 provides an outline for the decorative indicia formed on the undersurface of the inner member. The outline of the decorative indicia includes a plurality of outwardly projected ribs that act as an outline to facilitate and guide and intended user in the application of appropriate paints within the area defined by the ribs. Hence, different features may be painted on the surface of the inner member with limited manual dexterity requirements.
Delimiting specific areas of the surface to be painted with guiding ridges provides an interesting advantage over prior methods. Indeed, some of the conventional methods for applying two or more colors of paint in such a way that the individual paint not cover all of the substrate to be painted and so that the colors are sharply delimited from one another have proven to be tedious and inefficient. One of these prior art method involves coating the substrate with paint of a first color, drying the first layer and then covering up the area so painted whereupon the uncovered areas are then painted with a second layer of paint. This conventional method is time-consuming owing to the need for drying between the application of any two paints.
This conventional method also requires some degree of manual dexterity since it may be deemed considerably difficult to make sharp demarcations between differently colored areas. The difficulty is at least in part related to the fact that portions of the applied paint typically cross the boundary line to settle in the adjacent area.
Various techniques have been used to obviate this problem. One typical method is to apply so-called xe2x80x9cmasking tapexe2x80x9d of suitable width along the dividing line on the side of the adjacent area that should not be painted. Another is to completely cover the adjacent area exposing only the surface to be painted.
In either of these methods, desired effects have been obtained in preventing the masked area from being smeared with paint. However, these prior art methods have been found to cause other problems. Firstly, processes involved are themselves not very efficient in actual practice and also not suitable for applications in some artistic settings.
Secondly, the subsequent removal of the masking tape tends to cause the jagging of the edge of the film of coating which borders on the tape. This jagging is sometimes caused by the removal that destroys the coating of paint dried across the surface of the tape. In other instances, the removal of the tape can entail the scraping of flakes of the layer along the edge of the painted layer where the paint is not fully dried together with the tape.
Hence, the ribs or ridges provided by the structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,790 seem to provide a great advantage over prior art structures and methods for allowing the painting of decoration articles requiring demarcation between the differently colored feature sections. However, the use of ribs or ridges suffers from numerous drawbacks.
The ribs protruding from the feature sections unduly increase the overall thickness of the decorative panel hence leading to increase required storage volume. Also, since the ribs protrude from the feature sections, they are susceptible of being damaged or broken during shipping or handling of the panel. Furthermore, painting of the outermost portion of the ribs may prove to be difficult and may potentially lead to dripping of the painted outermost section on the side surfaces of the ribs creating an unpleasant visual effect.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved decorative and craft related structure and method for providing the same.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a combined decorative and craft related structure and method for providing the same.
Advantages of the present invention include that the proposed structure is intended to be used both as craft article allowing an intended user to exercise leisure craft skills and to also be used as a decorating article for decorating a supporting surface once the decorating article has been customized by the intended user using his/her craft skills.
The proposed decorative structure allows an intended user, even with limited experience, skills or dexterity, to apply coloring material such as paint to various feature sections of the structure with reduced risks of overlapping so as to enable the intended user to define sharply delimited feature regions creating a pleasing esthetical effect. Hence, the proposed structure and method allows an intended user with limited skills such as an handicapped person or a child to the apply a multicolored pattern on a structure in which all different colored painted areas are relatively sharply delimited from one another through the use of conventional color applying implements such as a conventional painting brush.
More specifically, the proposed structure allows for coloring of both feature sections of the design and outlining areas with different colors with reduced risks of overlapping between feature sections and/or between a feature sections and an adjacent outlining area. The outlining grooves are designed so as to guide the intended user in the application of paint with other coloring material therein. The outlining areas are also designed so as to reduce the risks of overlapping by providing a physical gap between adjacent feature sections.
The proposed structure further optionally allows the intended user to easily and readily remove paint from unintentionally painted areas through a set of quick and ergonomical steps. More specifically, the proposed structure allows an intended user to abrasively remove unintentionally applied paint using conventional sanding paper.
The proposed structure is designed so as to be manufacturable using conventional forms of manufacturing so as to provide a decorative structure that would be economically feasible, long-lasting and relatively trouble-free in operation.
Still furthermore, the proposed structure and method allows for the creation of composite wall designs by juxtaposing structures in accordance with the present invention so as to create and esthetically pleasing visual effect. The mounting of the structures in accordance with the present invention on supporting surfaces are facilitated by mounting components built-in to the structures. The mounting on supporting surfaces may be performed with minimal risks of damaging the structure and/or mounting surfaces on which they are attached. The mounting of the structures on the supporting surfaces may be performed by a set of quick and ergonomical steps without requiring special tooling or manual dexterity.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a blank for forming a decorative structure, the decorative structure being intended to be used for decorating a supporting surface by displaying a decorative design having feature sections delimitated by an outline, at least some of the feature sections and part of the outline being intended to be colored by an intended user using a coloring implement, the coloring implement having a coloring section dispensing a color pigmented material, the blank comprising:
a rigid panel, the panel having a panel first surface and an opposed panel second surface, the panel defining a panel thickness between the panel first and second surfaces;
the panel first surface having a groove formed therein, the groove extending at least partially along a section of the outline for creating a depression in the panel first surface between adjacent feature sections, the groove having a groove base wall and a pair of groove side walls extending between peripheral edges of the groove base wall and the panel first surface, the groove defining a groove depth between the groove base wall and the panel first surface and a groove width the adjacent peripheral edges of the groove base wall, the groove depth and the groove width allowing the demarcation of the adjacent feature sections, the adjacent feature sections and the groove base wall being made out of a pigment receiving material allowing application and retention thereon of the color pigmented material;
whereby the groove physically separates the adjacent peripheral edges of the adjacent feature sections so as to facilitate the application of the color pigmented material on the adjacent feature sections with reduced risks of overlapping so as to allow for the sharp coloring of the adjacent peripheral edges and whereby the groove further guides the coloring section during the application of the color pigmented material to the groove base wall so as to also allow for the sharp delimitation of the adjacent feature sections by the outline.
Preferably, at least a section of the panel first surface is made out of an abrasively removable material whereby a layer of the panel first surface part of a corresponding feature section is abrasively removable by a manual sanding operation using a sand paper.
Typically, the blank defines a panel peripheral edge, the panel first surface being optionally provided with a peripheral ridge extending from the panel first surface and extending at least partially along the panel peripheral edge generally adjacent the latter.
Typically, the groove has a groove width to groove depth ratio having a value of about between 1.25 to 2.5. In one embodiment of the invention, the panel is made out of fiberboard, the groove width has a value of about 0.25 inch and the groove depth has a value of between 0.125 and 0.100 inch. In another embodiment of the invention, the panel is made out of fiberboard, the groove width has a value of about 0.125 inch and the groove depth has a value no greater than 0.100 inch.
In one embodiment of the invention, the groove has a generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration with the groove side walls extending generally perpendicularly from the peripheral edges of the groove base wall. In another embodiment of the invention the groove has a generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration with the groove side walls extending at an angle relative to the groove base wall, groove side walls diverging outwardly away from each other in a direction leading from the groove base wall to the panel first surface.
Conveniently, the color pigmented material is a liquid and wherein the adjacent feature sections and the groove base wall are made out of a liquid impregnable material for allowing the color pigmented material to impregnate the adjacent feature sections and the groove base wall.
Typically, the blank further comprises a mounting means attachable to the panel second surface for mounting the panel on the supporting surface.
Preferably, the mounting means is a releasable mounting means for releasably mounting the panel on the supporting surface.
Conveniently, the mounting means includes a first mounting strip of miniature hook and loop fiber and a complementary second mounting strip of miniature hook and loop fiber, the first and second mounting strips being attachable respectively to the panel second surface and to the supporting surface.
In accordance with the present invention, there is also provided, in combination, a blank for forming a decorative structure and a coloring implement for coloring at least part of the decorative structure, the decorative structure being intended to be used for decorating a supporting surface by displaying a decorative design having feature sections delimitated by an outline, at least part of the outline being intended to be colored by an intended user using the coloring implement, the coloring implement having a coloring section for dispensing a color pigmented material, the coloring section having a coloring section width, the blank comprising:
a generally rigid panel, the panel having a panel first surface and an opposed panel second surface, the panel defining a panel thickness between the panel first and second surfaces;
the panel first surface having a groove formed therein, the groove extending at least partially along a section of the outline for creating a depression in the panel first surface between adjacent feature sections, the groove having a groove bottom surface and a pair of groove side walls extending between the peripheral edges of the groove bottom surface and the panel first surface, the groove defining a groove depth between the groove bottom surface and the panel first surface and a groove width between adjacent peripheral edges of the adjacent feature sections separated by the groove, the groove being configured and sized for substantially fittingly receiving at least a section of the coloring section and for allowing the coloring section to contact the groove base wall without contacting the adjacent feature sections, the adjacent feature sections and the groove bottom surface being made out of a pigment receiving material allowing the application and retention thereon of the color pigmented material;
a mounting means attachable to the panel second surface for mounting the panel on the supporting surface;
whereby the groove physically separates the adjacent peripheral edges of the adjacent feature sections so as to facilitate the application of the color pigmented material on the adjacent feature sections with reduced risks of overlapping so as to allow for the sharp coloring of the adjacent peripheral edges and whereby the groove further guides the coloring section during the application of the color pigmented material to the groove bottom surface so as to also allow for the sharp delimitation of the adjacent feature sections by the outline.
Preferably, the combination further includes a first color pigmented material and a second color pigmented material, the first and second color pigmented materials being in a liquid form, the first and second color pigmented materials having distinct color tones, the adjacent feature sections being made out of an abrasively removable material; the adjacent feature sections and the groove base wall being made out of a liquid impregnable material for allowing the color pigmented material to impregnate the adjacent feature sections and the groove base wall;
whereby the first color pigmented material is intended to be applied on the groove base wall and the second color pigmented material is intended to be applied on the adjacent feature sections and wherein adjacent feature sections having been unintentionally covered by the first color pigmented material during the application of the first color pigmented may be abrasively cleared of the first color pigmented material prior to applying the second color tone on the adjacent feature sections by a manual sanding operation.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a careful reading of the detailed description provided herein, within appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.